Abstract
As the precision frontier of large-area survey astrophysics advances towards the one millimagnitude level, flux calibration of astronomical instrumentation remains an ongoing challenge. We describe initial testing of silicon solar cells as large-aperture precise calibration photodiodes. We present measurements of dark current, linearity, frequency response, spatial response uniformity, and noise characteristics of the Sunpower C60 solar cells, an interdigitated back-contact 125mm x 125mm monocrystalline solar cell. We find that these devices hold considerable promise as large-area flux calibration sensors and warrant further characterization.
Highlights
Flux calibration remains a primary source of systematic uncertainty in the use of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as probes of the history of cosmic expansion.[1,2,3,4] The wavelength-dependent throughput of the observing instrument is the most immediately accessible and separable contribution to this systematic error
Conventional photon-detectors [photodiodes (PDs), CCDs, etc.] have collection areas no larger than a few square centimeters. Such small collection areas are inadequate for some modern imaging applications that depend on the calibration of a large-diameter optical beam
It is unclear if this spatial variation is caused by the corrugations in the electric field produced by the electrodes or due to some other regularly structured spatial inhomogeneity in the solar cells (SCs)
Summary
Flux calibration remains a primary source of systematic uncertainty in the use of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as probes of the history of cosmic expansion.[1,2,3,4] The wavelength-dependent throughput of the observing instrument is the most immediately accessible and separable contribution to this systematic error. Conventional photon-detectors [photodiodes (PDs), CCDs, etc.] have collection areas no larger than a few square centimeters. Such small collection areas are inadequate for some modern imaging applications that depend on the calibration of a large-diameter optical beam. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope[12] (LSST) project intends to use a collimated, monochromatic beam (a collimated beam projector or CBP) to sequentially illuminate portions of the optics, and a calibrated silicon PD to monitor the flux.[13,14] The LSST team plans to use the CBP to measure instrument transmission as a function of photon wavelength and source position. We consider the possibility of using an array of high-efficiency solar cells (SCs) as a full-aperture sensor for calibrating the LSST CBP and other large-diameter internal calibration light sources.
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